Protector
by icclenomi
Summary: When people met them, they assumed Jake was the protector. A one-shot taking a look at the Sully twins pre-avatar.


okay, since this is the first time i'm writing for avatar, this may change. I would be happy to receive constructive critisism, because who doesn't love to learn and improve? If you see anything you think i've missed please let me know :) I hope you like!

disclaimer: I am not james cameron... that should do it.

avatar fic 1. draft 2.

When people met them, they assumed Jake was the protector. Jake was a Marine, Tommy the scientist; their childhood may as well have been written out in front of them. This, however, had never really been the case...

At birth, Tommy had weighed three pounds heavier than his brother- and had remained the larger twin until they were halfway into their teens. Though unbelievable now, Jake had always been a timid child, all that had stood between him and the bullies was his twin brother. Tommy had been more successful in everything they tried, but never grew impatient with Jake, always supporting him. He knew his brother looked up to him, though he could never see a reason why he should. With Jake, there was never any resentment, even when they were separated in school, because he knew how well his brother did, how the advanced classes would propel him further and how much he longed to be a scientist.

To an outsider, it could appear as if Tommy did all of the giving, whilst his brother remained oblivious to it all, but to Tommy; Jake was the giver. Jake was the one who gave an impish grin everytime he saw his brother, Jake was the one who saw everything through rose tinted glasses, who saw the beauty in every object great or small. Jake pulled him to his bed and tucked him in when he'd been studying to late and left candy bars on his desk without a word. Jake wasn't stupid. He could see how things worked, even if he couldn't put the words to it. Tommy may know how to use a calculator, and run a computer; but Jake would work out how to get an engine running long after it was considered unsalvageable, he would get the squeak out of an annoying office chair that had been driving his brother slowly insane for over a year. Tommy could learn a new language in a few short months, but Jake would communicate with other people easily, they just responded to his nature because it shone through brightly.

He never told him, but Jake joined the Marine Corps because of his brother. He wanted to be able to protect people from the evils of he world, as his brother had protected him. He knew that he was less intelligent than his brother, and that even teachers had been less than kind about him- but everytime a word was muttered, Tommy would defend him. When he was a small sickly child, his brother would ensure every window was shut, and that he had enough balance in his meals- it didnt even matter if their parents had run the numbers, Tommy had to check again. Once Jake had matured into a strong young man, identical to everyone in the outside world, he decided to join up. And it was at this point that people believed Jake to be the protector.

Then came the war. Then came the days of awaiting news, followed by a week of waiting for him to wake up. Then came months of physical therapy, agony and tears. The tears were unbearable. Jake still smiled, he wouldn't be Jake if he did not, but less often. They never quite reached his eyes. This, more than the loss of his legs, was what devastated his brother. He far preferred to have Jake in a wheelchair, than if he had to bury him- but the way Jake shut down broke his heart in two. How could the world be right when his Jake was so sad? It seemed as if the world would never get better, but remain damaged, broken even. That is, until the day Tommy earned his PhD. You would never know there had been anything wrong in the world the way Jake beamed. The air became lighter, easier to breathe, and the sun shone slightly brighter in the sky.

Then, one day, they fell out of contact. No one could really tell you how- some might say it was because Tommy's career was taking off, that he was destined for great things, that he didn't have time to cater to his brother's every whim anymore. Others would tell you it was due to some secret longing for Jake to be his own man, and get away from being the 'dumb twin'. But neither was really correct, it was more that they could never quite catch each others company, missing each other by minutes, until their attempts at contact grew few and farther apart, until one day they just stopped altogether.

Tommy's research of Pandora granted him exposure to the best minds on Earth, and Jake found that he could push the boundaries of what he could do beyond the expectations of his doctors. Before long, they had separate lives from each other- until one day they met each other once more and decided to catch up, until the fateful day Tommy walked into a store to buy himself and his brother something to drink; and nothing was the same again.

End.

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